'The Evil-Favored Alliance?'
Looking at the eerie character on the token, Qi Ping's brow furrowed tightly.
This reminded him of the Evil-Favored Alliance that Li Peng, the skinny fellow, had mentioned—a group that caused quite a headache for the cultivation world.
The presence of this token on the black-robed cultivator, combined with information about the Alliance entering the Qingtian Domain, essentially confirmed the man's identity.
Furthermore, given that this black-robed cultivator could contract demon insects and use them to find Blood Ginseng growth sites, Qi Ping estimated that the major upheavals in the Qingyuan Sect over the past few years likely had a lot to do with these people from the Evil-Favored Alliance.
'Bluestone County is truly getting more and more chaotic!'
'Fortunately, Old Man Zhou and the others have returned to the mortal world, and I've gained the ability to transform into a bee. In most dangerous situations, I should be able to save my life.'
Having a means of survival meant Qi Ping wasn't as worried about the current situation. As long as he could run and escape, everything else could be developed slowly.
'However, this token still needs to be dealt with.'
Many tokens had tracking functions, especially those with such a unique aura. No matter what great use this token might have, Qi Ping didn't want to keep it by his side. The risk and uncertainty were too high!
Qi Ping had a clear plan for his future, and he wouldn't keep such a strange token around. There was no need to take such a risk.
So, he carefully used spiritual energy to wrap the token in several large tree leaves.
"Take this token and throw it somewhere else in the Cloud-Mist Mountain Range, far away! Remember this location, but make sure not to touch the token directly!"
"Buzz, buzz... (Understood, Boss!)"
The High-speed Ring-cutter Bees then flew off with the leaf-wrapped token. Seeing this, Qi Ping breathed a sigh of relief. This hot potato couldn't stay with him; as for where it would end up, that wasn't for him to worry about.
After handling these matters, Qi Ping dressed and walked toward the ancient cedar tree where Sister Nan was.
Sister Nan, still in her plain clothes, was seriously setting up various traps and poison arrays. This was her consistent style. In her territory, not to mention cultivators of the same rank, even those one level higher had a high probability of being killed by her.
"Xiao Qi, you're back? My traps and poison arrays are almost finished!"
Seeing Qi Ping, Sister Nan introduced her traps with a bit of pride, while warning him to be careful not to trigger them accidentally. In this harsh world, only these things could give her a sense of security.
"Sister Nan, we might not need these for now. Let's save them for the next time there's danger!" Qi Ping replied with a smile.
He didn't think Sister Nan's actions were redundant. If he hadn't awakened as a Druid, his survival ability would probably be far inferior to hers. Thus, he had great respect for her and felt there were many things—such as her caution and steadiness—that he needed to learn from.
The more successful one became, the more caution was required. Countless people became arrogant after achieving a little, only to be killed due to their carelessness.
Even now, it was still possible for Qi Ping to die at the hands of a mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivator, or to draw the attention of a Foundation Establishment cultivator by exposing his methods. While he had a chance of escaping a Foundation Establishment cultivator, it was only a chance.
He now had the opportunity to slowly seek immortality, so he had to act even more steadily, thinking twice before acting. Any risky venture needed thorough preparation.
For example, the potential greed sparked by buying high-grade spirit beasts... or the risks hidden beneath the Blood Ginseng... any mistake could cost him his life.
Sister Nan excelled in this area. If he could be as thorough and cautious as she was, his chances of encountering danger in the future would be greatly reduced. Thus, Qi Ping didn't look down on Sister Nan just because he had a swarm capable of killing late-stage Qi Refinement cultivators; instead, he felt he still had much to learn from her.
"Ah? It's resolved?" Sister Nan asked in surprise.
"Yes, Sister Nan, look!"
As Qi Ping spoke, he pulled the corpses of the over one thousand Blood Grudge Mosquitoes and Putrid Water Flies from his storage bag. Some of the corpses were still warm, with blood and fluids still flowing, having clearly died not long ago.
"Blood Grudge Mosquitoes and Putrid Water Flies? And over a thousand of them?"
Seeing these first-tier high-grade demon insects radiating a dangerous aura, Sister Nan broke into a cold sweat. No wonder she had felt so uneasy; with a lineup like this, an ordinary late-stage Qi Refinement cultivator would have been left without a complete corpse!
"Xiao Qi, you aren't hurt, are you?" Sister Nan asked with concern after her shock faded.
"I'm fine, Sister Nan. I just lost some bees, but it's within an acceptable range. It's all thanks to that insect nurturing manual you gave me; otherwise, the Golden Marrow Bees really wouldn't have been a match for these late-stage demon insects!"
As he explained, Qi Ping intentionally steered the conversation toward the [Spirit Beast Nurturing: Insect Volume].
"You nurtured a stronger bee species?" Sister Nan reacted instantly.
Right, if he only had mid-stage Golden Marrow Bees, how could he have defeated late-stage demon insects?
"Yes."
Qi Ping didn't deny it and nodded. Even if he didn't say it, Sister Nan would have guessed; only this could explain how he could kill so many demon insects so decisively.
"Xiao Qi, you're truly amazing. It was in my hands for so long without any use, yet it's already played such a huge role for you..."
"It was just luck, and it's mostly thanks to you... By the way, Sister Nan, take this Black Cicada!"
As he spoke, Qi Ping pulled out the Black Cicada—a weapon lethal even to mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators—and placed it in Sister Nan's hand.
Now, the speed of Qi Ping's bee transformation was faster than activating the Black Cicada. And once he became an Ink-armored Bee, he could even withstand a direct hit from something like the Black Cicada. Giving it to Sister Nan now would earn him some goodwill.
"Xiao Qi, wait until your strength improves a bit more..."
However, Sister Nan was interrupted before she could finish:
"Sister Nan, mid-stage Qi Refinement cultivators can't kill me now. The Black Cicada doesn't mean much to me. Trust me, it's more valuable in your hands!" Qi Ping looked at her with a determined gaze.
Facing Qi Ping's resolute eyes and the pile of over a thousand demon insect corpses, Sister Nan didn't refuse further and accepted it. Qi Ping's gesture further solidified her resolve to tell him the secret of the manual's origin; her last bit of hesitation vanished.
If she couldn't trust a person like Qi Ping, who could she trust?
"Alright, then I'll shamelessly accept it."
Knowing that Qi Ping had the ability to protect himself made her feel better about taking the Black Cicada, which would indeed improve her own survival.
"This is what we agreed on; just take it, Sister Nan."
Just as Qi Ping was about to ask about the origin of the manual, Sister Nan spoke first.
"Xiao Qi, do you want to know where the insect nurturing manual came from? I think it might be of great use to you."